Carragher 'wants to stay' at Reds

Carragher started at Anfield as a trainee

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said he wants to see out his career at Anfield, allaying fears that he was eyeing a move elsewhere.

The Reds' vice-captain has a year left on his contract, with negotiations yet to begin over a new deal.

And, earlier this month, he stunned Liverpool fans by saying he would have "no problem" exiting his hometown club.

However, the 32-year-old said: "I don't want to leave Liverpool, I want to stay here for the rest of my career."

Carragher made his Liverpool debut against Middlesbrough in 1997, going on to become a mainstay of the Reds' defence and an iconic figure to the club's supporters.

In that time he has helped Liverpool win the Champions League, a Uefa Cup, two League Cups and two FA Cups.

On the international front, though, he was not an automatic choice, and in 2007 he quit England after becoming disillusioned with a lack of opportunities, hoping the move would extend his club career.

606: DEBATE Your views on Carragher's future

And, despite England coach Fabio Capello's defensive options being limited by injuries, Carragher has ruled out making himself available for selection for this summer's World Cup.

"I will be watching [this summer] and, of course, I'd love to play at the World Cup," he said.

"You watch on and think 'could I have got in the squad?' But I made the decision [to retire] not just on the spur of the moment for a few weeks, it was to prolong my career and I stand by that."

Liverpool, meanwhile, resume their bid to salvage some glory from their disappointing season with the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Benfica in Lisbon on Thursday.

Early exits from the Premier League title race, Champions League and FA Cup have made for a grim season so far for the Reds, but Carragher insists that lifting the Europa League trophy would be more than a mere consolation prize.

"We're desperate to get our hands on some silverware - we haven't done that for a few years," said the Bootle-born player.

"That's vitally important and success in that competition could change how the season has been looked upon - in the next few weeks it could all turn around."

On Sunday, Rafa Benitez's team resume their push for a fourth-place finish away to Birmingham.

After a second-placed finish behind Manchester United last season, Liverpool were some pundits' tips for title glory this term, but their current position in sixth spot is testament to their miserable league form.

Some observers have put Liverpool's demise down to injuries to some of their star performers, including Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson.

We're desperate to get our hands on some silverware Jamie Carragher

But Carragher was reluctant to use that as an excuse, and instead claimed the realisation that the title was beyond their grasp had dealt his team-mates' confidence a significant blow.

"We all have injuries here and there and that's just part of football and you deal with it," he said.

"I just think at the start of the season we didn't do particularly well and then we realised we weren't going to be in the title race, which was what we had all built ourselves up for.

"It was a disappointment at that early stage, whereas the other teams were excited about the prospect of getting into the top four.

"Maybe it took us a while to get our heads around the fact that we wouldn't be playing for the title, but a top-four finish is vitally important now for next season and that's something we're certainly capable of."

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